Starbucks barista defends breastfeeding mom

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A Canadian woman was surprised when a Starbucks barista stood up for her after a customer complained about her “disgusting” breastfeeding. (Getty)

A Canadian Starbucks barista has become an unlikely hero among breastfeeding advocates.

When an angry customer complained about a breastfeeding mom in an Ottawa Starbucks last week, the young man, whose name hasn’t been released to the media, smiled warmly and said he’d handle the matter.

The barista walked over to the mom and apologized for the customer, offered her a free refill and handed her a voucher for a free coffee.

The customer who complained stormed out of the Starbucks in a rage.

Julia Wykes, who works as a midwife, was touched by the barista’s approach to the situation. When she heard the disgruntled customer tell the barista in a really loud voice that breastfeeding in public was disgusting, she figured that she’d be told to “cover up.” Instead she received a sincere apology.

“I was really, really happy about this, because I thought this was a really great attitude to have, especially from a young, teenage man,” Wykes told CTV News.

Wykes thanked the barista with a generous tip and later shared the story with her parenting group on Facebook. Wykes’ story quickly went viral. News outlets from Jezebel to the Huffington Post have picked up the story.

While Starbucks hasn’t released the name of the barista, the company confirmed that the incident happened.